A Cry Across Dimensions
by Suiirenn
Summary: After a long mission, Team Natsu is in for a surprise when they stumble upon a lost child. Not knowing who it's parent's are, they head off on to another adventure. They would take it as far as to travel through different worlds to find his/her parents. Who are the parents of this child? What risks do they take? Read to find out. Many crossovers! I suck at writing summaries, sorry!
1. Chapter 1 - A Cry for Help

Hi hi, Fred's back with a brand new story :3 I've been itching to write this story since forever, and I found some time so why not? It's a crossover with many animes, so I'm not quite sure which other anime I should put as the tag so yeah..just making that clear.

I hope that you enjoy!

Oh and note that this chapter wasn't edited by my dear editor. Shes very busy and I didn't want to trouble her too much . So if anything seems wrong or if you don't understand please PM me or leave a review and I'll fix that quick :)

*Disclaimer: Everything except the plot is owned by Mashima. Plot was made up by me.*

_**Bold Italics - **sound_

_Italics - Thoughts_

_* action * - An action a character is doing. _

* * *

"Hurry up Lucy!" A voice called. The voice belonged to a certain pink haired mage, Natsu Dragneel.

"Mouu~ Natsu I am, it's just that your too quick." A blonde complained.

Natsu stood on top of the very large hill that they were climbing on, while Lucy was making her way up, not even half way there yet. The sun slowly descended down the horizon as she did so. Happy, Natsu's partner in crime, flew just next to his friend.

"Lucy, you're lagging behind. Are your boobs weighing you down?" The blue cat joked. His right paw covered his mouth and his eyes gave a childish look.

"Shut up!" She recoiled. Damn cat! It's easier for you. You've got wings while I don't!"

Team Natsu was heading back to their guild after a mission in Bullabarough Town. Their mission was to capture an escaped criminal and bring him back to the town sheriff. The pay was good; 40, 000 jewels, just half of Lucy's monthly rent. It was simpler than what the ad said. Apparently the criminal was a mage, but compared to them, he looked more like a child who was just getting the hang of his powers. Natsu, with the help of Happy, defeated the man in less than 10 minutes, and Lucy did the favor of bringing him back to the sheriff, where he'll be kept put for a while.

" *Huff* Natsu *Huff* I'm finally here now." The blonde said exhausted.

"Took you long enough. Ah! Over there looks like a good place." He said and pointed far into the forest that surrounded the hill they were on.

"Ehhh? We're not going back to the guild tonight?" She complained. She heaved and picked up her bags that she placed down earlier. "And I thought I was going to sleep in my nice, comfy bed tonight." She muttered to herself rather than to her team mates.

Natsu shook his head, his spikey, pink hair moving along with him. "It'll take us another 5 hours to get to Magnolia." He marched into the area of tall trees and bushes with Happy following close behind.

"Ah! Wait up, Natsu!" She said while running to her team mate.

The team of 3 reached a small clearing in the middle of the deserted area. The sun was no more, leaving only the stars and moon as their sense of light. A pile of sticks and stones were already set in place, most likely from other campers that were there long ago.

"Ahh, finally!" Lucy sighed, relieved to finally take a rest from everything that happened that day. She placed her bags on the ground and took out her sleeping bag. Meanwhile, Natsu, being a fire dragon slayer, lighted up the pieces of wood with his fire magic. Happy sprawled out his and Natsu's sleeping bag, and crawled in. He soon fell fast asleep, giving soft snores and sleep talking about fish.

"Nee? Natsu? Why don't you head off to sleep now? We have to walk for most of tomorrow." She said out of her bedroll. Her brown eyes looked curiously at the sitting mage across from her.

"Just keeping guard. I'll go soon." He said without looking at her. Instead he faced the wonderful, twinkling stars.

"Hai–hai. Just don't stay up too long." She turned around and smiled while doing so. "Night!"

The boy didn't reply. His face turned away from the stars and looked at the sleeping female in front of him. Without thinking any thought at all, he just stared at her and cracked a small smile. He looked away from her, and changed his view to his other sleeping friend. He chuckled at the blue exceed due to the sleep talking he was still doing.

"I…I could..still…eat..more Natsu." He mewed and turned over in his sleep.

He sighed and raised his chin to look at the stars again. He cracked a small smile as he thought about the days after coming back from Tenrou Island. A year passed by since then, the Grand Magic Games ended with Fairy Tail in first, and they successfully beat the dragons by firing the Etherion after ranging all of them up into a group. All the chaos died down and peace was restored to Earthland.

Soon enough, he fell asleep, tucking himself in with Happy. He sensed no treat in the area. The fire was dimly lit and its ashes lingered the air above. Everything was peaceful in the forest. The night was silent, (except for the loud snoring from Natsu and Happy) and the wind was light; not too cold or too windy. It was rather refreshing and carried the smell of a fresh lake. The moon shone on them, seeming to protect them from the wild nocturnal animals that were scavenging for food.

A few hours later, Natsu awoke abruptly and alarmed. He sniffed the night air. He smelled something peculiar and it wasn't the ash. The fire was out, and the smell of smoke disappeared from the winds that blew it away.

"Hey Lucy…Luce! Wake up." He hissed. He also patted his partner next to him, signaling him to awake.

She woke up a second later from his rather quiet call. She was a light sleeper thankfully. Her petite hands rubbed her eyes, and she yawned. "Yes, Natsu? What's wrong?"

He sniffed the air again.

"Someone's here?" Lucy guessed and he nodded. "I thought there wasn't anyone here. It's a quiet forest, people barely wander in here."

"There wasn't, until now at least."

"_**KYAAAA!" **_A high-pitched scream echoed through the forest.

Natsu, Lucy, and Happy, all took one glance at each other and nodded without a word. A single glance made it clear that they were going to save whoever that was. They pushed away their tiredness and became their eyes became serious and ready for anything coming their way.

"Happy–" The fire mage began.

"Aye sir!" Happy said without Natsu finishing his orders. His white wings sprouted out of his blue back, and he was off, flying into the direction of the scream.

"Let's go Lucy." He started running at a slower pace, allowing Lucy to run next to him. They followed the direction Happy was leading them through. Luckily, he was a light shade of blue, making it easier for them to spot from the ground.

She patted the pouch on her hip, making sure her keys were secure and that she didn't leave them behind (which she would never do). In the past year, she received a new key. No, it wasn't gold, nor was it silver. It was a rare one, rarer than the 13 zodiac keys _**(A/N: Yes, I included Ophiuchus)**_. The key was made out of hard diamond rather than metal. Even if it was diamond though, it did not break because of the magic it wielded. The key did not have a symbol like most of Lucy's keys; instead the key had an emerald jewel in the middle of it, and the design at the top seemed to look like wings. Lucy had received it from the Celestial Spirit King himself when he visited her in her dreams one night. He told her that something will happen in the near future that requires this key. Ever since that dream, the celestial mage has tried opening the gate many times but to no avail.

"Natsu, over there~" Happy yelled from the sky. He pointed his little paw in the direction that they were already heading.

The wails of whoever it was, got louder as they ran/flew. It was high pitched, just like the scream was. It sounded like a child to them, but they couldn't be sure of it. The air to Natsu, smelt like fear. The person was scared, thus making him speed up a little, but making sure that Lucy could still catch up.

At last, the team of three made it to a clearing. Natsu and Lucy halted and gasped at the view, and Happy flew back down, just hovering over Lucy's head. It was one of the most beautifulest places they had ever seen; a shimmering blue lake in the middle of all the trees.

Lucy grimaced after spotting something in the middle of the lake. "Natsu, over there." She pointed at the center of the lake. A small island was there with only grass and a tree as its vegetation. A large creature stood over something and pinned it against the tree. The screams and cries resounded from there, most likely that 'something' being a human.

"I'm on it. Happy." He grinned a grin only fit for when he fought someone.

"Aye!" Happy grabbed the back of Natsu's shirt and flew off to the small piece of land.

Lucy stood there alone and helpless. _Damn it! I can't get across. The water's too deep for me to swim and by the time I get there, Natsu would have beaten the thing already. Oh I could use Aquarius….._She quickly thought of what her water celestial spirit said to her the other day: "Lucy, don't you dare call me next Saturday, I've got a date." _Scratch that; she'll kill me, and then again I can't summon her on Saturdays. _She cursed in her head once more and did a little agitated dance on the spot.

"Luuuccyyy~"

"Eh?" She stopped stomping on the ground and looked up. The person (or should I call exceed?)calling her was none other than Happy. In his paws he carried a small child instead of Natsu. "Here give him to me." She held out her arms and Happy, happily gave him to her. _**(A/N: I'll be calling the child a 'him' for now 'cause it just makes it easier for me. So note that the child may or may not be a male)**_

"I'll be going back to Natsu now, Lucy."

She gave the cat a nod indicating to do so. He left, and Lucy held the child closely against her, cradling him. "Shhh, it's alright now. Don't cry." She assured the child in her most soothing voice. She tapped his bottom and smiled as she saw him drifting off to sleep. Lucy noted that the child was really small and young, about 2 or 3 years old. The child was bleeding at its knees a little, and there were some scratches on his face, but either than that, he looked fine. She couldn't see his hair colour or the length of the hair due to the hat on his hat, making her wonder what gender he was. Of course the clothes would tell, but the ones he was wearing looked like they were for both genders; a little white robe with a hood, much too big for him.

She looked up to face the battle that was going on, on the island. Natsu was breathing fire and punching the brown looking creature. It looked half cow and half pig to her, but she wasn't fazed; there are many creatures out in Earthland that still aren't discovered or named.

Happy held onto Natsu's shirt once again, flying his friend over the monster's head and body.

"Karyū no Hōkō!" Natsu yelled. A blaze of fire flamed out of his mouth and partially burned the half pig/cow. The smell of cooked meat wafted in the air. But the beast didn't stop; it tried punching Natsu, but Happy flew him to the side, successfully dodging the attack. "Happy I guess I found our breakfast for tomorrow." He grinned making the animal angrier. "Bring me behind it."

"Yoshhaa!" Happy yelled in the air. The cat swung around the animal as fast as he could and Natsu did one of his signature moves, the Fire Dragon's Iron Fist. It sent their breakfast hard into the ground, and made it lose conscious.

"Alright we did it, Happy!" He was let down onto the ground and high-fived his partner.

"Aye!"

The pinky cocked his head to the side and crossed his arms. "Now, how do we bring this back to cook?" He asked dumbfounded. "Happy, can you-"

"NOOO!" The cat refused instantly, knowing what Natsu was going to say next. Lucy was hard enough to carry, so wouldn't this be even heavier _**(A/N: I know Happy only does it as a joke but**_** whatever)**? The thing was too large for a small cat to carry around. Plus it would look pretty stupid in the cat's mind. He envisioned the fainted, red pig/cow floating above everyone with tiny wings on the back. What a wonderful view, wouldn't you say?

oOo

Eventually, Natsu, Happy, and yes, the animal, got back to Lucy.

"How the hell did you get this here?"Their female nakama asked.

"Well, you see there was-" Natsu once again got cut off with his words.

Lucy put out one of her hands at him, stopping him from saying anything else. "No-no. Forget I ever asked. Anything is possible with you, Natsu." She shook her head from side to side and sighed. "Anyways, let's go. This child needs someplace warmer to sleep than my arms."

Soon enough, the group arrived at their campsite, tired and wanting to sleep. Natsu and Happy tied up their breakfast with ropes around a tree, securing it from running away in case it would wake up. Lucy, on the other hand, was helping the child with his wounds. He slept while she bandaged and cleared away the blood. She placed him in her sleeping bag and tucked him in. Happy rubbed his eyes sleepily, and strode over to the child's side, tucking himself in with him.

"Nee, Natsu?"She said while smiling at the sight before her. The kid nuzzled in closer to the warmth of the cat, and wrapped one hand over him.

"Hmm?"He questioned and relighted the fire. He then sat next to his sleeping bag and waited for her to speak her mind.

She walked over to Natsu and sat down next to him. "Ano-sa, don't you find it strange for a small kid to make it to that piece of land? I mean, the water was deep; too deep for a child to swim in. And he couldn't have gotten lost from his parents. He or she looks too young to run away and make it here from a town. Bullabarough Town is four hours from here and Magnolia is five. Plus, you said there wasn't anybody here." She bit her lower lip and frowned, trying to think for the solution to the problem.

"Now that you mention it….He could have fallen from the sky." He said excitedly. He gave a big smile at her, making her feel a bit warm.

"No-no, the kid couldn't have." She waved her hand in front of her, declining his idea.

Natsu gave a big sigh and stretched out his arms. "We'll ask tomorrow. Take my bed and go to sleep." He smiled and she blushed.

"Eh? But it's yours."

"It's alright. I could sleep on the ground. I won't get cold 'cause I'm a dragon slayer!" He said proudly and pointed his thumb at his chest.

Lucy got up and picked up the sleeping bag. She unzipped the side of it causing it to look like a rectangular mattress. She spread it out on the ground and flopped on one side. Her hand patted the other side of the bedroll, indicating for him to lie down next to her. He obediently did so and immediately fell asleep out of exhaustion. She quietly laughed and soon enough she also fell asleep, snuggling closer to him for warmth.

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How was that? Like I said before the story started, it wasn't edited so if there are any problems please tell me. Oh and I'm sorry if the characters seemed abit OC here. I'll try to fix that

Review/Fav/Follow Onegai?

Thank you for reading..Hope you enjoyed.

~Fred

(P.S read my other fanfic 'A school filled with Wolves' it's a NaruHina one to all of you naruhina fans ^.^. And next chapter may be out in 2 or 3 weeks...hopefully)


	2. Chapter 2 - Neru & Yuko

Hello there! Fred's back with a new chapter. YAY! Sorry for the slow update. I meant to update faster but I've been busy with school work and presentations, plus I'm sick :( I've been trying to write with the small chances I get. Sorry again! Anyways, this chapter might seem a bit iffy, in my case, I didn't really like how it turned out, but I was in a rush. I wanted to get this out really quick, so, if there's any grammar mistakes, or simple mistakes, please do tell. Oh and if your confused. ask me.

Thank you to the people who have followed/fav/reviewed my story. It makes me very happy, and makes me want to update faster.

Enjoy reading!

*Disclaimer: Everything except plot belongs to Hiro Mashima-sensei*

_**Bold Italics - **sound_

_Italics - Thoughts_

_* action * - An action a character is doing._

* * *

Birds chirped and the sun rose. The rays shined brightly causing the blonde-haired mage to stir. She tossed and turned to try and find a way to block the bright light, but no matter where she headed, the sun followed. Finally giving up, she got up from her slumber and gave a grouchy look to no one in particular.

She got up from her sleeping bag and stretched. Her hair was a mess, and her clothes were wrinkled from sleeping. _I can't wait to get home and take a bath._

"Ohayo Lucy!"

Lucy turned around at the sound of her partner's voice. "Morning." She walked over to her bag, tiredly, and dug in to find her hair brush, and grabbed her toothbrush and toothpaste along the way. She quickly brushed her hair and her teeth. "Natsu, is the…" Her voice trailed off once she saw what the pink dragon slayer was doing. The beast that they caught last night, was turned into breakfast just like Natsu anticipated. He was eating a piece of it and roasting some more using his fire magic. Happy, on the other side, held a piece of meat in his paws. The poor cat was crying, saying that it wasn't fish.

"Wanswam (Want some?)?" He said in between munches. He held out a piece of it to Lucy, which she agreed to have after a few minutes of him persuading her.

"It's pretty good." She complimented. He nodded his head at her, agreeing that it was delicious just as she said it was.

After finishing up her breakfast, she headed over to the child that was still sleeping soundlessly. _This kid can sure sleep. _"Oii..Oii, wake up. It's morning." She sweetly whispered while kneeling next to the young child. "We've got food."

"Food?!" The child woke up in an instant at the sound of something edible. "Vhere? (where?" He or she looked up at Lucy with its _**(A/N: omg I hate calling people or animal an 'it', to me it sounds like you're calling them an object that has no life)**_crystal blue eyes.

Lucy was shocked; one, for the child to be awakened by just one word, and two, how beautiful his eyes were. She snapped out of her daze and gave a soft chuckle. "Yup, we got food. Come over here." She got up from her crouching position and walked back to Natsu and Happy.

The child tried to run after Lucy, but tripped on the long robe like clothes he wore. Tears formed, but did not fall. _Got to be big. No cry, no cry._

Seeing this, Lucy rushed back to the fallen kid and decided to carry him/her back. "It's ok. It's alright; you'll be fine." She patted his/her back until the small sniffling eased. She grabbed the smallest piece of meat from Natsu and fed the child it.

Happy watched the human child devour the meat hungrily. "Does it taste that good?" He questioned. The slab of meat was still in his hands, unbitten and getting colder by the minute.

"Yup. It taste good neko-san."

Happy looked at the cooked cow/pig in his paws and took a small bite out of it. Natsu and Lucy looked at the cat with anticipation; did he like his breakfast or not? "Fish is still better, but this is good too." The cat said more to the child rather than the two adults, but found that the child wasn't listening; he was giving all of his attention towards the food in his hands.

"Me done!" The child cried. His hands were messy from the grease and were covered in black from the charcoal. Lucy got a bottle of water and washed his hands.

"Ano-sa, what's your name kid? I'm the great Natsu Dragneel, she's Lucy, and neko-san is Happy." Natsu said proudly.

The crystal eyes of the kid looked up at him with curious eyes. "Neru!"

"Neru? Sounds pretty girly for a boy." Natsu joked.

The child puffed his cheeks in frustration. "Neru is a girl that why." She took of the hat she wore and threw it on the ground. "See?" She pointed her petite finger at her head. Light blue hair fell out of her hat. It cascaded down her shoulders, resting right above her waist. Her wavy hair shined brighter in the sun, and had a soft feeling to it. She looked like a doll with her big blue eyes and her pale complexion.

"Whoa!" Natsu said surprised. "You have blue hair."

Lucy slapped her forehead lightly. "Why are you so surprised? You have PINK hair for god's sake."

"Ah! Right. Right!" He said, like he just remembered a crucial fact.

Lucy sighed at her dumbfounded friend. She turned and looked at the little girl sitting on her lap. "So, Neru-chan is it? I'm Lucy Heatfillia." Lucy smiled. "How old are you Neru?" She tilted her head a little letting her blonde hair shift slightly. Over the course of the year, her shoulder length, blonde hair, grew longer; reaching down to the mid-section of her back. Instead of her signature hairstyles (her side pony tail and her pig tails), she changed it to wearing it down fully; saying that it would make her more womanly.

"Neru is twee years old." The little girl slowly counted her fingers, and raised up three when she was done.

"Ah! Three years old, huh." She said, more to herself than to anyone else. "You're really cute Neru-chan." Her hands touched the hair of Neru and softly combed through her untangled hair with ease.

"Yeah! That what Mama tells Neru too." She tilted her head and her blue orbs looked up at the female above her.

"Mama? And where is she right now?" Happy asked right before Lucy could say the same. Natsu leaned in more, curious to hear the answer to it.

Neru shook her head. "Neru doesn't know. But Mama told me to give this." She got off Lucy's lap and stood up. Her tiny hand searched through her robe for something. She pulled out a small, white envelope and handed it to Lucy.

Lucy quickly tore of the envelope and un-folded the paper that was inside. Her eyes quickly scanned it. Natsu and Happy looked over her shoulder to see what it was, but their female companion told them to move away to give her some space. She read the letter aloud, enough for everyone to hear.

_Dear Whoever is reading this,_

_Hello, you must be wondering why Neru appeared out of nowhere, and where we, the parents of Neru, are. Before l answer these questions though, I would like to say some things about our dearest, Neru. She's three years old, if you haven't known already. She enjoys eating. The mention of just the word 'food' is enough for her to wake up. Even though she loves food, there is just one that she must not eat; mushrooms. Our daughter is highly allergic to them. She hates taking baths and keeping still. Her personality is just like her father's, and her appearance is almost identical to mine. Anyways, we sent our Neru to your realm because ours is in the midst of war; a tragedy due to the loss of our King. I have a request to make; find us. By the time you return our daughter to us, the war will be over._

"What war? I don't see or hear of any war in Earthland." Natsu interrupted. He scratched his head in confusion.

"Shhh! I'm getting there." Lucy snapped back at her friend. She turned back to the paper in her hands and started reading once more.

_You must be wondering what we are talking about. 'War? What war?' is what you must be asking. Well one, we aren't from Earthland; Neru isn't from Earthland. We are from another world; time would be different over here. A day here is just half a day in Earthland, is what I hear. 'The war will last for at least another two years' is what a fortune teller tells us. Go to the Dimensional Witch's shop and make a deal with her. To find us, tell her to send you guys to our world. We live in the world called….._

Lucy halted. There wasn't anything left on the letter; it seemed like the bottom was either torn or burnt. She tsked and frowned. "A bit more and then we would know who they are and where they are. So, Neru is from another world. This doesn't surprise me much as it would have if we hadn't gone to Edolas." She nicely tucked in the letter back into the envelope and put it in one of her bags. Facing Natsu and Happy she smiled. "So, what should we do? Accept the mission or not?"

"Hell yeah! We accept the job." Natsu cheered, fist pumping the air. Happy agreed and did the same.

"That's what I thought." The blonde stated. "We should head back to the guild though. Master should know something about this 'Dimensional Witch'."

Soon enough, the group packed up and headed off to their guild. Natsu decided to help carry one of Lucy's bags, Happy was blissfully flying in the air, and Lucy was walking along side Neru. The young toddler walked fast and precise for her age. She didn't trip, and she didn't complain about the long walk. Lucy asked questions to the young girl, but were answered with 'Neru does not know'.

An hour passed, this time Neru was being carried on Lucy's back, and Happy carried her other bag of luggage. Time flew by and the sun moved from the east to the west in no time.

"WE'RE BACK!" Natsu yelled, kicking open the guild doors. The loud shouting from the guild stopped at the sound of their arrival. Everyone looked towards their noisiest member of the guild, and was quite surprised at the sight.

A shiver ran up Lucy's spine once she saw the snickering faces of her nakama. _Why do I feel like something bad is going to happen?_

A white haired female came rushing towards them. She wore her signature white hair down in the back, while her bangs were tied up in a fountain hairstyle. Her blue eyes were gleaming with excitement, and her hands clasped together at the side of her cheek. "My-my, so you guys have finally decided to have a child. You guys leave for a few days and come back with a kid. What a fast development." Mirajane said enthusiastically. She looked at the child sitting in the blonde's arms and smiled almost too brightly for anyone to see.

Lucy face palmed. "No- no! Mira, it isn't our child. We didn't do 'it', nee Natsu?"She stuttered out with a tomato red face.

"Hmmm? You say something, Luce?" The pink haired mage said with bored expression. One of his fingers was in one of his ears, cleaning whatever was in there.

"Ara-ara, what a shame; I'm sure the two of you could have made some cute babies." The white-haired bartender said with disappointment. Lucy blushed away, unable to utter a word. Natsu, on the other hand, disappeared off somewhere. "Anyways, who are you my dear?" She asked the young child.

"Neru!" Neru cheered, her hand fisting the air.

"Ah, Neru-chan. What a cute name you have. My name is Mirajane, Mira for short." She smiled and pointed her index finger at herself.

"Mira-nee-tan?"

The eldest Strauss sibling nodded her head.

"Um, Mira? Is Master here?" Lucy inquired, walking in the guild with Mirajane beside her. She tried her best to ignore the curious and nosy stares she got from her guild mates.

"Master? Why yes, he's here. Do you want to meet him privately?"

Lucy nodded. "Please." She was led upstairs into their guild master's office by Mirajane. She let down Neru from her arms and stood in front of Makarov Dreyer. She bowed and Neru copied. "We're back Master."

"Yes, and you've brought someone with you." The short man said. He sat in the tallest chair in the room, behind his desk. A foolish grin was plastered on his face. "So..you guys finally did the deed?"

"Nooo! Not you too, Master!" The celestial mage yelled with red cheeks.

Her guild master chuckled. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding."

The blonde puffed put her cheeks. "Mouu~"

"So, you wanted to tell me something?"

"Yes, it's about Neru, here." She patted the girl's head. "Can you give me that letter sweetie?" She asked with kindness in her voice. The child happily obliged. Taking out the letter out of her clothes, she handed it to Lucy.

She handed it to her master, and then started explaining how they found the lost child in a forest. Makarov's face hardened into a serious expression; his eyes were focused, his eyebrows furrowed, and his smile was replaced by a slight frown. He read the letter and called for Mira to tell Natsu to come to his office.

A moment later, a ruffled up dragonslayer came in, muttering curse words and Gray's name. "You called?"

Makarov nodded. "Natsu, Lucy, I guess you've got yourselves another mission. Round up another five members and come back tomorrow. I will let you meet the Dimensional Witch."

"Dimensional witch? Who's that?" Natsu asked.

"Her name is Yuko. She runs a wish granting shop. 'Dimensional witch' is a nickname given to her because, like it suggests, she can open up portals that can lead to a different world." He explained.

"Whoa! That sounds awesome!" Natsu excitedly exclaimed.

Makarov grunted. "In the meantime, take a good night's rest. You guys must be tired from the last mission. Pack your things, make sure their light though."

"Yes Master!" They said in unison. Natsu left the room, Neru following him. Lucy was also about to leave, but was stopped short.

"Lucy?" The short man asked.

"Yeah?"

"Make sure to buy some other garments for Neru. I don't think she would enjoy wearing that white robe thing all day." He said.

"Right! Thanks for telling me that. See you tomorrow, Master." She waved 'bye' to him and left the room.

Makarov sat quietly at his desk, pondering on his own thoughts. _The road is going to be a harsh, my children. Be careful._

* * *

That's it for now. I was actually going to write more but decided not to 'cause for one: i really need to sleep, and two: I've got no motivation at the moment heehee.

Next chapter will come out..soon...

Thanks for reading! Follow/Fav/Review onegai?

~Fred


	3. Chapter 3 - The Fake Smile

Hi hi! Fred is back!Yes, I'm alive. I won't be dropping this story unless I die. It's been about 2 months or so? I'm sorry for the long wait . I can explain, it was all school's fault. I was really busy with projects, presentations, tests, and exams, so I haven't been able to write. But now that school is finally over (hallelujah), I can start writing again ^.^.

Anyways, I hope you enjoy reading ^.^

_**Bold Italics - **sound_

_Italics - Thoughts_

_* action * - An action a character is doing._

_(brackets) - Anything that Neru says that are in brackets, is what she means to say. _

* * *

Neru sat at the bar, focused on sipping the cup of milk in front of her. Beside her sat a curious Asuka with a cup of her own milk. On the other side of Neru sat a tired Lucy. She had been answering the questions of her nakama for most of the morning. They had finally stopped asking after Mira shooed them away.

Natsu had disappeared off to his house to get ready for their long journey, along with Happy.

"Lu-chan! I'm back." Her friend called from the guild doors. She was a petite girl, but was the same age as Lucy. Her blue hair was pulled back with a yellow bandana and she wore a short, orange one piece dress. She was carrying three large bags of clothing in each of her hands. Beside her stood a much taller man. He had a bored expression on, and was carrying some of the bigger looking bags.

"Oi, We got your stuff, bunnygirl." Gajeel said with a gruff voice, and placed them in front of Lucy.

"Don't say it so mean-like, Gajeel!" Levy wined beside him. She also put her bags down on the ground in front of Lucy.

"I didn't want to do this in the first place, okay shrimp?" He looked down at the tiny girl before him, and crossed his rather muscular arms in front of his chest.

"You're the one who came by yourself. I never told you to come with me!" Levy said, baring her teeth at him.

"Whatever." The iron dragonslayer walked away from the two ladies, and went to find his exceed.

"*sigh* stupid Gajeel." She turned around to her friend and was met with two pairs of mischievous faces. "What is it?"

Mira and Lucy exchanged glances and snickered. "They liiiiiikee each other." The both rolled their tongues like Happy would do.

It sent Levy's face into a sheet of red. "I do-do not!" She stuttered. She crossed her arms over her small chest and turned away from her two friends.

"heehhh." Both Lucy and Mira said, unbelieving the lie Levy told. _Those two tsunderes._

"An-anyways, I bought what you requested, Lu-chan." She changed the subject suddenly.

"Ahh, the clothes for Neru?" She looked through the bags and pulled out a few of them. "Wahhh! They're so cute. Thanks for doing this for us, Levy-chan!"

Neru stopped drinking her glass of milk and looked up towards the small dress that Lucy held. "That for Neru?" She asked, curiously.

Lucy nodded. "Yup, it's yours. Say 'thank you' to Levy, she's the one who bought all these clothes for you."

The young child looked at the bluenette beside the blonde. "Thank you, Levy-nee." She gave a bright smile at Levy, which made Levy squeal from how adorable the child was.

The female child went back to her drink and drank it in one go. "Neru done!"

"Sugoi, Neru-chan! I'm not even finished mine yet." Asuka exclaimed beside her.

Neru's smile broadened. "Hee hee. Asuka-chan should hurry and finish her milk so we can go play." A drip of milk clung to the blue-haired girl's chin.

The child with black, braided hair nodded happily, and continued to chug down the white liquid. She was happy that another child finally came into the guild. She was the only young child around, and frankly, she was getting tired of it. When she was bored, Asuka would go around to some of the guild members, and ask them to have another child for her to play with. Of course, being only seven years old, didn't know the process of having a child.

Lucy smiled at the two children. With a napkin, she wiped the remaining milk off of Neru's chin. "I'm sorry to say this, Asuka, but we need to go home now. We got to go home now; the sun is already setting and we need to get ready for tomorrow. Why don't I bring Neru early in the morning, so that you guys can play before we leave?" She suggested.

The pout on Asuka's face quickly formed into a smile. "Alright, Lucy-nee." Asuka giggled.

Lucy grabbed the larger bags in one hand and let Neru hold the small and light ones. "See you guys later. Let's go Neru-chan." She gave her free hand to the little girl to hold, which she took.

"Bye bye, Asuka-chan!" Neru said. Asuka said the same and off went Lucy and Neru.

"Oi! Happy, did you tell the others yet?" Natsu hollered.

Happy was flying back from his given mission from Natsu. After Happy had packed his bag, Natsu asked Happy to do a favor for him. He asked to tell Gray, Erza, Wendy, and Charle, that their team was going to depart on a very long mission, and to get ready for tomorrow. He had told Gray about their mission already, but the females weren't in the guild at the time, making him unable to tell.

"A-aye.."Happy said. He was exhausted from how much flying he had done today. All the cat wanted to do was to curl up into a ball and sleep.

"Good job, Happy. You can take a rest now. I'll be heading over to Lucy's. See ya!" He closed the door to his home and marched towards the town. It was getting late out; the sun had finally set and the moon was high up in the sky. The stars lit his way through the small forest that separated his home from the rest of Magnolia.

He stretched his arms out and put them behind his head. _I wonder if Lucy's asleep yet._ The fire dragonslayer chuckled as he thought about the expression Lucy would have if he snuck in her room again.

His nose twitched before the sound of rustling leaves made its way to his ears. "Who's there?" He growled.

His eyes darted towards the bush behind him. The scent he smelled gave him chills down his back. It smelled dark and sinister from the nauseating odor it gave off. Whoever it was, was a threat.

His lit his hand on fire and dashed towards the anonymous presence. The shrub of leaves burned away from the touch of the hot flames, however, in its place was no one.

The dragonslayer gasped out of bewilderment. "No one's here." The smell he had inhaled disappeared without a hint of the odor ever being there.

"Oh well, could have been an animal." Natsu said to himself. He turned around and continued on his walk to Lucy's.

A grin made its way onto the hidden being's face. _Ehh, Natsu Dragneel, huh? _ The mysterious person slowly walked deeper into the forest without a sound. The shadows of the woods seemed to devour him away until there wasn't anything there, just pure darkness.

Once he got to the blonde's apartment building, he jumped through her open window. When he was in her room, he noticed that the house was pitch black. The bed beside her window was empty, neatly arranged and untouched. The clock beside her bedside lamp read 8:53 pm. _She should be heading back from the guild by now. _

"Oh!" He had an idea. Natsu quickly flumped onto the bed, and hid himself in the pink blanket. _I'll hide in here and surprise her. _

A few minutes passed by, no Lucy. He quickly dozed off from the sweet smell of vanilla lingering on the bed; the smell of Lucy. He couldn't figure out why this smell was so soothing. It would calm down his nerves and make him forget his troubling issues. He didn't know why the smell of Lucy would always help him with his motion sickness. With her beside him, he would feel secure. Other smells could not compete with this one, he had smelled other vanilla-like odors, but none of them had the effect he desired. He had come to a conclusion that Lucy was special. This certain smell was like a medicine to him, no, not a medicine, more like a drug, a drug that he loved and would never get sick of.

"Ah! Neru found something!" Neru announced. She pointed her tiny finger towards a lump on the bed. Salmon-colored hair stuck out of the blanket, making it obvious on who it was.

Lucy came walking behind the naked child. Her blonde hair was wet and her day time clothes were changed into pajamas. Judging from her appearance, she had just taken a bath with the young child.

"Neru, don't run out of the bathroom without clothes on." Lucy lectured. She held a towel in hand and wrapped it around the small girl's body.

"Okay! But, Neru found someone!" She looked up at Lucy and then back to the bed.

An imaginary tick mark appeared on Lucy's head. "Natsu," She said with gritted teeth. Grabbing the pink blanket, she tossed it off of the Natsu's body. "Get out of my bed!" She yelled but to no avail.

The man on her bed squinted his already closed eyes from the light if the room. He gave out a groan and hid his head underneath a pillow. "Lucy...you're home..welcome...ba...ck." He trailed off from falling back asleep.

Lucy gave out a deep sigh. "Fine, you can sleep here, but at least sleep on the couch instead."

No answer.

"Who he?" Neru questioned. She cocked her head to the side.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME? You don't remember me?!" Natsu shot out of the bed as quick as a lightening bolt.

She shook her head.

"It's Natsu!"

"Nut soup!" She giggled. "Nut soup! Nut soup!" She said over and over again while laughing.

"AHH! That does it!" He grabbed the child by the waist, and started tickling her on the bed.

She giggled ten times harder. "Top it, it tickle."

Beside them, Lucy started to laugh along. "Nut soup, huh?"

"Oh, so you want a tickle too, huh Lucy?"

"Wait." She was suddenly pulled onto the bed and tickled.

Neru's eyes twinkled as she got an idea. "It's time for Neru to escape!" She wiggled out of Natsu's grasp, and got off the bed to safety. "Neru can't be defeated by tickles!" She claimed. The beige towel that was on her small body fell, showing her birthday suit. Even without the towel, the girl smiled brightly and stood firmly on the ground, her hands on her hips.

"Neru!" Lucy gave a knock on the fire mage's head to make him stop with his shenanigans. She pushed him off to the side as if he weighed as heavy as a feather. "We gotta put some clothes on you before you catch a cold."

She headed out of the room and into the hallway. Neru looked at her curiously from the doorway. Lucy came back in with the many bags of clothing that Levy had bought for Neru. She dug through them and found a light yellow night gown.

Natsu, on the other hand, shut his eyes and went back to sleep. Watching a child getting changed wasn't something he'd want to see.

"Here, put this on, then I'll hand you your pajamas." She handed a small piece of garment. "Underwear."

The blue haired girl looked at it confused. "How does Neru put it on?" She handed it back to Lucy.

"Put one leg in this hole," Lucy held the underwear out for her, while she followed Lucy's instruction. "Yep, that's a girl. Now, the other leg. Good job, Neru!" She praised.

Neru giggled, while Lucy slipped on the yellow dress on her. "Thank you…um…"

"Have you forgotten my name too? It's Lucy." She said with a smile.

Neru seemed to be in a daze as she was looking up at Lucy. The smile that the little girl would always wear, faded into a straight line.

"Hmm? Is something the matter, Neru?" Lucy asked with a worried expression.

"Ah!" Neru snapped out of her daze. She shook her head wildly. "Nope! Neru is fine!" She sat on Lucy's lap and hugged her waist. The smile reappeared on her face, and the same happy-go-luck kid she was before. "Mama! Neru want to call you Mama inted (instead). Mama would always help Neru dwess up. Neru thinks you (are) like Mama."

"Eh?" Lucy was surprised at the sudden outcome of things. "Um, but Neru..." She tried to continue, but was silenced by the look she saw on Neru.

The girl no longer looked up at Lucy. Her eyes were squeezed shut and small tears were forming at the corners of her eyes. She hugged Lucy tighter, and rubbed the side of her face against her well-endowed chest.

_I haven't noticed till now, but the smile she's been putting on must be fake. Being in a totally different world with no one she knows must have been lonely. She must miss her mother and father. _Her hand delicately petted Neru's head. "You're a really strong girl, Neru. Holding in your tears like that takes a lot of effort. Now, cry, you don't need to hold it in any longer."

The small girl in her arms started wailing as she began to let her heart out. "Mama...Papa!" Tears fell down her cheeks as she thought about her faraway parents.

"Yosh, yosh, it's alright." Lucy hushed.

After a few long minutes of crying, Neru had finally stopped. The crying had reduced to sniffles. She got off of Lucy's lap and stood up. "Neru is ok now!" She gave a reassuring smile to the worried blonde. "Neru go play now." She ran off through the hallway, her arms up as if she was a flying bird.

Lucy picked her up before she got into the next room. "It's not the time to play. It's bed time." She carried her back into her room, and placed her on the chair that belonged to her desk. "Wait here. I'll get the sleeping bag for you." She walked out of the room and into the hallway closet. "I could have sworn I put it in here." She dug through the many objects that were in the small closet. "That's strange; it's not here."

Lucy walked back into her room with no sign of a sleeping bag in her hand. "Neru I couldn't fi-" She stopped mid-sentence once she saw the scene in her room. There on her bed, was a cute sight to be seen. During the time Lucy was searching for the bedroll, Neru had crawled into her bed. The little girl was snuggled next to Natsu. One of his arms was wrapped around her petit body.

Lucy closed the light, and headed towards the bed. She grabbed the blanket and tucked them in. "Good night!" She whispered while smiling.

She had decided to sleep on the couch that night. Before she left the room to go to the living room, she was stopped by a small hand. "Mama, sleep with us?" Neru said. She rubbed her tired eyes with one hand, and the other patted the large area next to her.

Lucy was surprised at what the young girl had asked of her. She smiled once more and crawled in with them. Natsu had made sure to move closer to the wall for more space for Lucy.

"Good night….Mama…" Neru managed to say before drifting off to sleep.

"Good night, Neru." Lucy replied. She closed her eyes, and fell asleep.

"And with that, our hero's day is finally over. Let them sleep a peaceful night, for tomorrow will be a day where they finally meet the dimension witch. Will the meeting go as planned, or will an unsuspecting event happen? I wonder what they'll lose." Said the same voice from the forest. He grinned, and then disappeared once more into the night.

* * *

Ouuu, I wonder who the mysterious person is? He's a boy and he really needs a name? Got a recommendation for me? Tell me in the reviews ^.^

Sorry, for some OOC-ness. The characters may be a bit OOC, but it won't be like total OOC (like if Natsu started doing something he really would not do, like start eating cats or something).

Thanks everyone who followed, favorited, or reviewed. Love ya guys lots!

_**Reply to Magicalnana:** The chapters will get longer over time ^.^ _

Until next time guys! (This time it won't be long)


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